Believe
by scoob2222
Summary: Written for geekfiction elemental ficathon. Prompt was incorporeal. When the unthinkable happens Donald Flack makes a promise, but will he be able to keep it as his feelings for Lindsay begin to change.


Your prompt is: incorporeal

**Your prompt is:** incorporeal

Don Flack tucked Kylie into bed. He made sure all the covers were tucked around her, making her a tiny Messer taco. As he sat on the stool next to her bed and read iGoodnight, Moon/i he remembered when Danny had introduced him to her for the first time.

i"Donald Flack, I'd like you to meet your goddaughter. This is Kylie Louise Messer," he said, presenting the tiny baby in his arms.

"She's gorgeous," Don said, reaching out to trace the baby's tiny foot, "Thank goodness she looks like her mother."

"I'd get pissed at you for that, but my wife is gorgeous."

"Your family is gorgeous, Danny. Congratulations."

Danny smiled, "Thanks, man. I really am the luckiest bastard alive./i

Don continued reading the story, trying not to let his emotions take control. He wanted to sob, to put his head down on the bed and just cry, but he wouldn't do that in front of Kylie.

"Uncle Don?" Kylie said when he was finished with the book.

"Yes, pumpkin, what do you need?" he asked, leaning down over her.

"Will you come and read me my story every night now that Daddy is gone?"

Don gasped, the breath escaping him for a moment as he choked out, "I'll be here every single night I can, pumpkin. I promise."

Kylie smiled sleepily and kissed his hand, "Thank you, Uncle Donnie."

Don smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead before leaving the room.

Lindsay was still in the bedroom with Stella. She'd been staying with her for the past few days, helping to get them through the funeral. They'd all done what they could, but now…now there was one more thing Don had to do.

&

It was midnight by the time Don got the courage to go into the cemetery. He knew the way, even though they'd only been there once, and he found the freshly dug grave in only a few minutes. He stared at the marker there, imagining the stone that would accompany it soon. What would it say?

iDanny Messer, father and friend/i

iDanny Messer, husband and father/i

iDanny Messer, you will be missed/i

He wanted to scream just thinking about it.

It should have been him. He didn't have a wife or a daughter or anything important in his life. His mother had been gone for years, his father gone for nearly nine months. Why did Danny step in front of him? Why didn't he let the bullet hit him?

Don knew why, of course. It wasn't in Danny's nature to stand back when he could save someone, especially someone he loved.

That didn't mean it was the right choice, or that he was going to be able to live with it.

What he was going to do was to look after the people that Danny left behind. He'd check in on his mother once a week, he'd make sure Lindsay had enough support at home, and he'd be there for Kylie, he'd be the best godfather he could be.

Forget his job, or anything else—taking care of that little girl was all that mattered to him now.

He swore it to himself…but most importantly, he swore it to Danny.

&

i2 years later/i

When Kylie opened the door to their apartment, she threw off her cleats, her hat, and left them in a pile on the floor with her mitt and bat and then stomped off.

"Kylie Louise Messer," Lindsay said, "You come back here and clean this up."

She was answered by the slamming of the Kylie's bedroom door.

"Ohhh," Lindsay said, starting after her daughter.

Don grabbed her arm, "She's just upset about the game."

Lindsay glared at him, "That doesn't mean that she gets to act like that."

"I know," Don said, "but do you really want to go in there and yell and then she'll yell and then you'll both spend your Saturday angry at each other?"

Lindsay sighed. She knew that's how it would happen. Kylie was just as stubborn as she was, maybe more if you added in her father's stubbornness, "Okay, so what do you suggest?"

Don smiled, "Let Uncle Don talk to her."

Lindsay shook her head, "Of course, miracle worker."

Don chuckled and moved toward the bedroom, knocking gently, "Kylie, its Uncle Donnie, can I come in?"

For a moment, he heard nothing, but then the doorknob turned and the door opened just a crack. He came in, leaving it open just that much, knowing that Lindsay would be listening outside.

"Hey there, superstar," Don said, "Any reason you decided to have a little fit?"

She turned and glared at him, "I didn't have a fit."

"Oh so you throw your dirty stuff everywhere all the time? Good to know for the next time I'm covered in dirt, I'll just throw it all over your room."

Kylie tried to keep up her glare, but couldn't help smirking a little, and then abruptly she broke into tears.

"Hey, hey," he said, coming to sit next to her on her bed, "What's all this about?"

"I lost the game….I suck."

"Pumpkin, you do not suck. You were awesome today. You hit two homeruns."

"It doesn't matter. I dropped the ball and the girl slid into home and won the game. I suck. I'm never playing baseball again. Daddy must be so embarrassed watching me from heaven. "

"Hey," Don said, picking her up and pulling her into his lap, "you look at me Kylie Louise Messer."

Kylie, used to getting in trouble when she heard her whole name, looked up hesitantly, "I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again, do you understand me?"

She nodded.

"Your daddy is so proud of you, of everything you do."'

"But…but what if I mess up again."

"Then you get up again. Don't you know how you got your name, Kylie?"

She nodded, "Daddy picked it."

"Do you know why? Do you know what it means?"

Her forehead crinkled in confusion, "What it means? It's my name. Names don't mean anything."

Don smiled, "Yes they do. And your name means boomerang."

Kylie smiled, "That's a toy."

"It's an amazing toy, because no matter how far you throw it, it always snaps back. And no matter how hard baseball gets you will always snap back."

Kylie smiled wider, all traces of tears gone, "Really? You promise?"

Don nodded, "I promise."

"Thank you, Uncle Donnie," she said as she leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Anytime, pumpkin, but now I think you have some apologizing to do."

Kylie's face fell and she nodded, heading for the door. He watched her apologize to Lindsay, and Lindsay smiled at him as they embraced."

"Thank you," she whispered.

He just nodded, it was the least he could do. It was always the least he could do.

&

"Thank you," Lindsay said later that night after Kylie was in bed and Don was getting ready to leave.

"For what?" he asked, then saw her face, "Oh that…that's just my god fatherly duty. I take it very seriously." He was joking around, but Lindsay's face was very serious as she leaned in to hug him.

"I know you do. I'm glad you do."

Don pulled back, uncomfortable with the sudden serious tone of the room, "Besides you know I'd do anything for you two."

Lindsay smiled, "I do."

Don's not sure what happened next. He knows he must have leaned down, he knows Lindsay must have tilted her head up, but he can't quite remember anything between the time she spoke, and the time their mouths touched.

But the kiss…well he sure as hell remembered that.

&

It was a mistake, an accident, no big deal. At least that's what they said the next day. They spent a lot of time together, and neither of them had dated anyone else in quite a while. It was bound to happen and it didn't mean anything anyway.

It certainly didn't mean that Don was suddenly in love with his best friend's wife.

And if he was, he was just…going to ignore it until it went away.

He went on taking care of Kylie as always, but he made sure to never be alone with Lindsay if it was possible…at least until he got over whatever this thing was.

That's when strange things started to happen.

A flowerpot fell at his feet, only it seemed to jump at him, and when he'd been forced to buy it he'd brought the flower to Lindsay only to find out it was her favorite kind.

When they drove to a crime scene together, the radio kept turning on and blaring sappy love songs.

There were other things, tiny things like them being locked in a closet together, or their cell phones calling each other on their own. It was all just…very strange.

Then there was the fact that the picture of Danny and him holding Kylie at her christening kept….moving around his apartment…on its own.

The third time it moved, onto his bedside table, Don was sure he was being haunted….by Danny.

"I sound ridiculous," he said after he explained the situation to Mac, starting with his and Lindsay's kiss and ending with the moving picture, "I mean…I know I do."

Mac shrugged, "I'm not sure about that. I had a couple of…incidents after Claire died. I woke up and something wasn't where I left it…once I even smelled her perfume even though it had been gone for months."

"And you think it was a ghost."

Mac sighed, "I'm a scientist. I believe what I can see, but…I like to think maybe she was there looking out for me."

"So, if Danny is here, what is he saying? Probably that he hates my guts and is going to beat me up when I get to heaven."

Mac smiled, "Don, you don't really believe that."

"There are rules here. I'm supposed to be looking out for Lindsay and for Kylie, not taking advantage."

"It's been two years. Lindsay's dated people since then. She misses Danny of course, we all do, but…you certainly haven't ever taken advantage."

"I don't…"

"Do you love her?"

Don is silent for a moment, "I don't want to answer that. I'm afraid to answer it. Afraid…"

"Afraid Danny will hate you? Listen, I'm not Danny, but I know that he loved you and I know if there was anyone he could choose to love his Lindsay and Kylie it would be you. Someone who would talk abut him, someone who would raise Kylie like she was his own. Listen, when Michelle and I first started dating I was so worried about raising her daughter, respecting her father's memory, but also being part of her life. It isn't easy," Mac paused and smiled, "but it's also the best choice I've ever made, marrying Michelle and adopting Antonia. I never met Tony, but if it was the other way around and I'd left Claire behind with our child…I'd want her to be happy again. I'd want her to find someone that would make her happy. I think Danny would want the same thing."

Don nodded, "Thanks for listening Mac. You gave me a lot to think about."

Mac nodded, "Anytime."

&

Don thought about what Mac said all night. The next morning when he woke up the picture of him and Danny and Kylie was pressed against his chest. He couldn't remember ever reaching for it.

He spent Saturday morning at the cemetery with Danny.

And Saturday night he knocked on Lindsay's door and asked her out to the movies.

He wasn't sure, but he believed that it was what Danny wanted.

And just like he'd promised two years ago to protect Kylie, he promised now to make her and her mother as happy as he could for the rest of his life.


End file.
